NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – Guilford College placed third at the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships Friday at the Keene Trace Golf Club. The Quakers shot 299 in the fourth and final round to finish with a 72-hole score of 1,181, seven strokes behind national champion Illinois Wesleyan University.
The third-ranked Titans led wire-to-wire for their first Division III men’s golf crown and shot a 22-over-par 1,174. They carded Friday’s second-lowest score (294) on the par-72, 7,190-yard Champion Trace Course to hold off Guilford and runner-up Huntingdon College (1,177).
Guilford placed three individuals among the top-nine finishers at nationals for the first time since winning the 2005 Division III title. Junior James Mishoe (Cary, N.C./Green Hope (UNC Greensboro)), Division III’s top-ranked golfer according to Golfstat.com, birdied the 17th hole and ended with a team-best 73. He finished fifth in the 216-man field with a four-over 292. Teammate Josh Hill (Superior, Colo./Monarch), the Quakers’ lone senior, shot 75 in his final college round to finish one stroke behind Mishoe in a three-way tie for sixth place at 293. Sophomore Addison Manring (Stoneville, N.C./McMichael) was three-over after five holes, but settled to play one-under for the next 12. A double bogey on 17 and bogey on 18 resulted in a five-over 77 Friday and a ninth-place individual finish (294).
Guilford sophomore Louis Lambert (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin) concluded his first NCAA Tournament appearance with a solid 74 Friday, which helped him climb 10 spots into a share of 53rd place at 307. Classmate Jack Lee (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley), also in his first national tourney, fired a 77 Friday and finished tied for 70th at 313.
Illinois Wesleyan and second-ranked Huntingdon started Friday’s round tied for the 54-hole lead at 16 strokes over par, two shots ahead of Guilford. The teams remained tightly clustered through the first nine holes and at one point the Quakers narrowed the gap to one stroke. The Titans and Hawks broke away on holes 13-15, which Huntingdon played at four-under and Illinois Wesleyan played at two-under. Guilford was two-over on the same three holes and dropped off the pace. Illinois Wesleyan ultimately won by playing even over the final two holes, which Huntingdon played four-over.
Williams College junior Sam Goldenring claimed medalist honors by two shots over Hope College senior Josh Gibson. Goldenring shot an even-par 72 Friday to finish three-under for the tournament at 285. Gibson, the 2017 Division III medalist, shot 71 in his final college round and placed second with a one-under 287. Huntingdon’s Drew Mathers (288) and Oglethorpe University’s Jacob Arnett (290) placed third and fourth, respectively.
Coach Adam Crawford’s Quakers entered the tournament ranked sixth in the latest Golfstat.com Division III Rankings and Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches’ Poll. They posted their fourth straight top-eight NCAA finish, which includes three straight top-five results. Guilford has placed ninth or better in 13 of its last 20 Division III Tournament appearances with nine top-five efforts. The Quakers won the Division III title in 2002 and 2005.
NCAA Division III Championship
Keene Trace Golf Club
Nicholasville, KY
Champion Trace – DIII Men 2019 and Keene Run
1 Illinois Wesleyan 287 291 302 294 1174 +22 2 Huntingdon College 299 291 290 297 1177 +25 3 Guilford College 296 286 300 299 1181 +29 4 Concordia Univ. (TX) 288 311 301 293 1193 +41 5 Methodist University 300 298 301 298 1197 +45 6 Wittenberg University 295 292 308 303 1198 +46 7 Oglethorpe 295 303 303 299 1200 +48 8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 299 302 303 297 1201 +49 9 Hope College 305 303 303 296 1207 +55 10 Trinity College (CT) 290 308 309 302 1209 +57 11 Carnegie Mellon Univ. 307 292 313 304 1216 +64 12 Hampden-Sydney College 297 315 309 301 1222 +70 13 Willamette Univ. 308 306 306 308 1228 +76 14 North Carolina Wesleyan 312 304 310 306 1232 +80 15 St. Thomas, Univ of-MN 310 310 313 303 1236 +84 16 Rutgers - Camden 300 311 318 308 1237 +85 17 Redlands 306 312 313 310 1241 +89 18 Aurora University 311 309 317 317 1254 +102